We really are in the final countdown!We are halfway through the 38th week of this pregnancy and simply cannot wait to meet our little girl!I figured I’d better write at least one last update since our Katherine Elizabeth can come anytime. So here are some end of pregnancy thoughts.

It’s funny how people talk about “nesting.” Supposedly it’s this instinct that kicks in near the end where you clean and get organized and prepare for the baby. It is supposed to be an indicator that labor is coming soon. Ha! For some people nesting might actually be a thing, but for someone who has always functioned so much better with things clean and organized, it’s not a real thing. I did have a time in middle school where I never put my clothes away and they constantly laid scattered over my room. But that was my one time of not being clean and organized. In high school, I bought a filing cabinet and was quite excited about it. Seriously. It’s ridiculous. I admit it. But as far as nesting goes, it just didn’t exist for me because that’s just my mindset constantly.I can’t even tell you when the last time was that I slept through the night. People like to tell us that this is nothing compared to the lack of sleep we will get whenever Katherine is here. But I’m certain it will be different. No matter what stage of life you are in, there is a difference between quality of sleep and quantity of sleep. For many months now, I’ve woken up way more than every three hours and am constantly uncomfortable, whether because of awful heartburn or because there is a human inside me very ready to come out. And let me just say, if the old wives’ tale is true and heartburn is an indication of the baby’s hair…she is going to have a full head of hair! So we’ll just wait and see.Everyone has their “just wait” comments. For some reason people think it is necessary to dump all sorts of advice on us and tell us to “just wait” (in a negative way). It seems as though people who have “been there and done that” like to tell you how hard life is about to be and how unfit you are for what you are about to face. And most people expect you to progress in pregnancy and go through things just like they did. But the honest fact is that every pregnancy is different and every birth story is different. We try our best to handle all the comments with grace and courtesy, but sometimes it gets hard to keep smiling through them all. If anything, it has taught us how not to be towards others who are expecting children.I am so blessed to go through this journey with Spencer. And as we near the end of this pregnancy and the beginning of parenthood, we just couldn’t be more excited to see how the Lord grows us closer together and closer to Him. There is no doubt this pregnancy has been hard, especially in our first year of marriage. But the hard things we face together only make us stronger. We had a plan, just like most newlyweds. We wanted to wait a few years before having kids. But God had a different plan and we trust Him. We trust Him with our marriage; we trust Him with Katherine.And speaking of trust, pregnancy has taught me so much about trusting the Lord in the things you can’t see. In His amazing creativity, God grows children in a woman’s womb. And although it happens in your body, there is so much unknown to it. You can read all the books, but you really don’t know what is specifically going on with your baby. It requires so much trust and faith that God will do what He sees fit for His glory. Especially as we near the end of this pregnancy, so many thoughts race through my mind, and I really have to make sure I spend time in the Word to rid my mind of any worry.We trust the Lord with Katherine now. And we are thankful for how He has used her already to draw us nearer to Him. We will continue to trust the Lord with Katherine as she enters the world.Being in this phase where Katherine can come any day or three weeks from now is such a strange place to be. But everyday we wake up and face the unknown.I’ve written before about how engagement and waiting on a child (whether in pregnancy or adoption) are two of the biggest echoes of the Church awaiting the return of Christ. And it is all the more evident as we near the end of this pregnancy. We wait in anticipation of Katherine’s arrival, knowing she is coming soon, but with no idea of what day it will be. We don’t just sit by the door with a hospital bag next to us, keys in hand, ready to go. We go on with everyday life. We continue working and living and doing what we do.Praise the Lord Christ is coming soon! But as we wait, knowing He could return tomorrow or several years from now, we must continue living. We can look forward to the other side of glory while continuing to make a difference for the Kingdom in the here and now.Thank the Lord for the lessons He teaches us through the craziness of this life!Some people have requested baby bump pictures. It’s always awkward to take a picture by yourself, but here you go. :) We will share some pictures of the nursery soon.

Sarah Connatser

Sarah loves Jesus and her family and is passionate about addressing the urgent spiritual and physical needs around the world. She is the wife of Spencer and mama of Katherine and Claire, and they live in Nashville, TN. She runs a photography business with her husband and writes in order to offer encouragement and invite others to choose grace, joy, and gratitude in the adventure and the mundane. She loves traveling and reading; she will choose unsweet tea over sweet and bootcut jeans over skinny; and she is all sorts of awkward with small talk but thrives with deep conversations.